County Attorney Defends Anti-Transparency Rule in Ethics Program
In most cities and counties throughout the United States, the city
or county attorney is in charge of the government ethics program. I
have written a great deal about why this is not a best practice, but
city and county attorneys still keep providing further reasons.
Here's one from Tioga County, NY.<br>
<br>
According to <a href="http://www.stargazette.com/article/20140325/NEWS01/303250066/No-copies-…; target="”_blank”">an
article in the <i>Star-Gazette</i> yesterday</a>, Tioga County has a law
that prohibits citizens from making copies of officials' annual
financial disclosure forms. They can't even photograph them, type
the data into a computer, or dictate the data into a phone.<br>
<br>
According to the article, the Tioga County Attorney "said it’s her
position that the prohibition on duplicating the forms can be
legally justified." She said the county can prohibit the public from
making copies because of a portion of a now defunct state law that
established a now defunct state commission. "Because Tioga County’s
ethics law was originally enacted in 1990 — before the former state
ethics law was repealed — [the county attorney] said its provisions
are still valid."<br>
<br>
According to the article, the executive
director of the state Committee on Open Government disagreed,
because the law the county attorney pointed to no longer exists.<br>
<br>
A county attorney who defends an anti-transparency law, in a
government ethics program of all places, that is clearly in
contradiction of the state's freedom of information laws should
have nothing to do with a government ethics program (she is now Statements Access Officer, so she is in charge of implementing the illegal rule and could have, at any time, declared it illegal; she also acts as counsel to the ethics board).<br>
<br>
Due to this
controversy, the county government says it is starting to consider
changing the law. But the first step should be for the county
attorney to correct her legal opinion and step away from any role in the
county ethics program.<br>
<br>
Robert Wechsler<br>
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics<br>
<br>
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